Reset Your Mindset: Practical Strategies for High Performance

Success requires not just hard work but also a clear and adaptable mindset. Penny Zenker’s book Reset Mindset: Strategies to Optimize Your Focus and Productivity offers invaluable insights for those looking to elevate their performance while maintaining balance. 

What Does It Mean to Reset Your Mindset?

“The Reset Mindset is the capacity to quickly adapt to change, reframe setbacks for a new focus, reassess a complex problem, or make new connections to leverage a new opportunity. You are constantly reevaluating your current goals and priorities to ensure your focus and energy are aligned with your values and greater aspirations, and in doing so, it offers a renewed sense of purpose and strategy,” Zenker shares.

Purposefully resetting enables you to shift your state, open your mind, reassess your priorities and redirect your focus toward what matters most. With this new focus, you can iteratively adapt to new information or circumstances to change your path.

Zenker explains, “When we reset, we’re choosing to reframe challenges and refocus our energy on solutions that align with our goals.” This process requires awareness of your current mindset and the willingness to change unproductive patterns.

Key Points to Reset Your Mindset

• Focus on Adaptation: Zenker emphasizes the ability to quickly reevaluate situations, identify new opportunities and adapt to changing circumstances by “resetting” your mindset. 
• Reframing Challenges: She explains that “resetting” involves reframing challenges and directing your energy towards solutions aligned with your goals. 
• Reset Moments: Zenker encourages actively creating “reset moments” to intentionally shift your focus and mental state when needed.

Practical Examples You Can Implement Today

Reflecting on the Reset Mindset concepts, here are some strategies you can apply immediately:

• Reframe: Instead of thinking, “This is too hard,” shift to, “What’s one small action step I can take right now?” This mental adjustment helps you to move forward one step at a time.  And every step adds up!
• Energize: Review activities that energize you or drain you. Aim to maximize energizing activities throughout your week and minimize those that deplete you. This renewed feeling of energy and freedom might require boundaries and revised habits.
• What Matters Most: Identify what matters most to you – your life and work – and prioritize that. Make decisions accordingly. This will eliminate the “Should I do it or not?”  Do what’s aligned with your values and top priorities. 

Why Resetting Your Mindset Matters

Resetting your mindset is an ongoing process of adapting and iterating.  These strategies will allow you to feel inspired, energized and in the flow. You will be able to approach challenges with greater confidence and clarity.

Instead of staying stuck, experiment with these ideas to change your results and wellbeing.